This invention pertains to infant warmers, and more particularly to an infant warmer having a shield adapted for protecting an infant""s eyes from light. Infant warmers are used for hospital care of newborn babies, particularly those born prematurely and having a low birth weight. Infant warmers typically have a bed for receiving and supporting the newborn baby with a heat source, such as a radiant heater, located above the bed. The heater is thermostatically controlled to maintain the infant""s body temperature within a desired range. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,498,229; 5,841,944; and 5,898,817, issued to Barsky et al., Hutchinson et al., and Salmon et al., respectively, provide examples of prior art infant warmers.
An infant warmer is provided that has a bed support holding an infant bed assembly, which is adapted for supporting an infant, such as a baby born prematurely with a low birth weight. A heat source is located above the bed assembly and is held by a support structure that is attached to the bed assembly or to the bed support. A light shield is located on a portion of the bed assembly. The light shield is preferably transparent and capable of supporting an opaque material so that light from a source above the infant is blocked from directly entering the infant""s eyes.
The infant warmer preferably includes a light source that is useful to medical personnel examining the infant, and the light shield is preferably adapted to prevent light from the examining light from entering the infant""s eyes directly. The bed assembly has a length, and the light shield preferably covers less than about 50 percent of the length. The light shield is preferably made of a substantially rigid material, and the light shield preferably removably rests upon the bed assembly.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a light shield that is adapted to rest on a bed assembly of an infant warmer. The light shield comprises a sheet of substantially rigid material that is formed to provide a lower support surface, which is adapted to contact the bed assembly of the infant warmer. The lower support surface rests on the bed assembly, and the sheet is formed to extend above and over the bed assembly. Sufficient space is provided between an inside upper surface of the sheet and an upper surface of the bed assembly so that the infant""s head can rest on the upper surface of the bed assembly and be spaced apart from the inside upper surface of the sheet of substantially rigid material. The sheet of substantially rigid material is preferably further adapted to block a substantial portion of light from passing through the sheet of substantially rigid material.